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Contributor Spotlight on Fiona Sze-Lorrain

Submitted by Prairie Schooner on Fri, 10/23/2015 - 09:05

by Keene Short

This week, we turn the spotlight to Fiona Sze-Lorrain, whose poem “A Matter of Time” appeared in the Winter 2014 edition of Prairie Schooner. In addition, she contributed a Prairie Schooner blog post, “Women and the Global Imagination: Laudomia Bonanni and The Reprisal,” earlier this summer. In Summer 2011, Christina Cook reviewed Sze-Lorrain’s first poetry collection Water the Moon in Prairie Schooner.

Sze-Lorrain’s latest poetry collection, The Ruined Elegance, from Princeton University Press, debuted this September. This November, her translation of Yi Lu’s Sea Summit will be released, from Milkweed Editions. These two works showcase Sze-Lorrain’s talent as both a poet and translator. Throughout November, she is also engaged in a book tour across numerous cities and literary events in Taiwan, including the Taipei Poetry Festival.

In addition to her work as a writer and translator, Sze-Lorrain is also an accomplished zheng harpist. She recently performed with Guo Gan in 2012. Her work in the IIIZ+ Ensemble bridged traditional and modern music, and blended East Asian and Western musical styles. Her musical projects mirror her literary work, bringing cultures together through art.

She is also the author of My Funeral Gondola and Water the Moon. Her work has appeared in Starry Island: New Writing from Singapore; On Freedom: Spirit, Art, and State; Sky Lanterns: New Poetry from China, Formosa, and Beyond; and others.